Just My Luck
by Jerico129
Summary: Takes place during the fourth book. After the St.Helen's explosion Percy didn't land on Calypso's island, he instead landed in the middle of New Rome. Unsure if his friends are alive, or if camp is safe, Percy must now gain the trust of the Romans, and get back to Camp Half-Blood. Contains some spoilers from The Lost Hero. PercyxAnnabeth and JasonxReyna
1. Splash Down

**A/N Hello anyone who so chooses to click onto this story! It's a pleasure to see you here, even if I can't actually see you, but that can be our little secret. O.K? Anyways, been a while since I last tried to write a story, you can find my last attempt on my fictionpress account with the same name as this account. Yeah, that story killed my inspiration to write for a while there, put a few hours into it and got maybe one view last time I checked, it's pretty hard to write when no one is bothering to read what you have written. Anyways, this idea just sorta popped into my head one day so lets see where this takes us, shall we?**

**Disclaimer: Not mine. Not making money from this. Get off my back.**

Of course this had to happen to me. I guess I figured something like this would happen at some time, I don't necessarily have what one could call the, "safest" or the most, "ordinary" life. I am what one would call a demigod, or half-blood. This means we get some special abilities based on our godly parent,so we got that going for us, which is nice. It also means we get constantly chased by bloodthirsty monster that hunt us by our smell and want nothing more than to kill us all.

I, however, am a very special demigod, I was gifted, not only with the monster attracting scent, but also with the worst luck ever. Let's just say that if finding a needle in a haystack was a bad thing, I would find all of the needles. I guess you could say that life just hates me for some reason, oh, and some of the Gods don't like me either.

Those would be the ancient Greek Gods by the way, yeah, they exist. You may not want to believe that they do, oh well, you knowing the truth won't change your life anyways. Mortals see the world through the Mist, a magical veil disguising all the monsters and magic that goes on, kinda like censoring swear words on a TV show.

Yeah, well the Gods don't really like me that much anyways though. Due to no fault of my own, my godly parent, Poseidon, broke an ancient pact made by him, Zeus, and Hades. You see, their children tend to be stronger than the average demigod, and they tend to get into a lot of fights with each other. This isn't fist fights though, last time they got into a fight it was a World War, so you can understand the Gods not wanting another one of those happening again. This brought the "Big Three" as they are called, to make a pact to have no more children with mortals.

There was also the fact that there is some sort of prophesy relating to one of their children, but despite said prophecy possibly referring to me, being a child of Poseidon, everyone around me seems to think that I shouldn't know what it is. All I know is appearance it has something to do with the possible destruction of Olympus, which scares the Gods, and if there is one thing you don't want, it's an all-powerful immortal being afraid for their life, because that's when they become unpredictable.

Anyways, back to what my amazing luck just caused to happen. My friends and I were exploring the Labyrinth, trying to make it so Luke couldn't use it as a gate to camp when we ran across Hephaestus. He of course, being a God and us being demigods, asked us to do him a favor, which means he ordered us politely. Our task was to clear out one of his forges that was overrun by Kronos's minions.

Basically what happened was things went down and I blew up. Yes, I blew up. Well I guess I didn't so much as blow up as just about everything around me blew up. As of right now I'm flying through the sky, launched by the force of the explosion. At this point all I could hope for was two things. One was that Annabeth hadn't been her normal stubborn self and had left like I told her to, the other was that I would land in water, because surviving the explosion itself would mean basically nothing if I couldn't survive the landing.

All-in-all it hasn't been the worst day of my life, hasn't been the best either, but not yet the worst. Knowing my luck however I figured that before the day was over it could very easily become the worst day of my life. With this thought in my head I slowly slipped into unconsciousness.

* * *

I'll admit, it was not the best way to regain consciousness, dropping from the sky into someone's swimming pool. In fact, I'd put it in my top 100 worst ways to wake up, you may think that top 100 isn't very high, but remember, I'm a demigod who many monsters and gods want dead, they can be pretty creative when it comes to making my life hell.

Anyways, hitting the water from the height that I was at would have been almost at bad as landing on the ground for anyone other than a son of Poseidon, and even being that it still hurt like a bitch.

Slowly the water drained the pain out of my body and replaced it with a soothing feeling. I floated to the surface of the water and began to survey my surroundings. I was in the backyard of someone's house, in their pool, surrounded by a bunch of teens who were all armed to the teeth and probably wanting to kill me right now. Just my luck.

"I'm not sure what it looks like, but it probably isn't that." I call out, trying not to sound panicked. "I'm, uh, just visiting." That got a few chuckles out of them. Great, at least I entertained the people who will probably kill me.

Two of the soldiers, a man and a women both looking to be about my age, stepped forwards. They were in charge, I could sense the respect that the soldiers gave to these two. "State your name intruder." the man ordered.

"Jackson, Percy Jackson." I called back, smiling to myself. "Sorry for coming unannounced but I thought I'd just drop in for a quick swim." At this point I figured I was dead so I maneuvered myself to be floating on my back.

"You dare mock us so?" the girl called out. "Do you have any idea who you are dealing with? How cocky can one be to crack jokes when surrounded by soldiers?"

"You know, I just got blown up, so I apologize for being rude, and no, I have no clue who I'm dealing with. I couldn't really control my free fall, who do you think I am, a son of Zeus?" I figured that these people would know about the Gods and such judging by the fact that they were armed with swords and spears and not guns, and it would be pretty unlikely that anyone other than demigods would be armed with guns.

"You mean Jupiter?" The girl leader said.

"No, I said Zeus, and I meant Zeus. You know Zeus, Lord of the sky and king of the gods? Ring a bell?" I said, swimming slow laps around the pool, looking up at the faces of the soldiers that ringed the pool. These soldiers were trained, you could see it in their eyes. Not only trained but they have seen action, you could tell which ones of them have friends who had died in battle. It was a special kind of look, an unsettling one, but a very distinct look of loss.

As I swam laps, observing those around me, the two leaders were speaking quickly and quietly to each other. The girl nodded, then jogged away from the pool, probably going to prepare some sort of jail cell for me if they decided to keep me alive. The boy then walked up to me and knelt down at the edge of the water, offering me a hand.

"Name's Jason," He said to me in a friendly tone, smiling at me,"and if you try anything funny I will kill you."

"Nice to meet you Jason, and if you tried to kill me I would have to defend myself." I said, staring back at him. I wasn't going to be threatened like that and not retaliate in some way.

Jason grabbed my arm tightly and lead me through the soldiers, who then followed behind us. "Well, Percy was it? Welcome to New Rome, home for demigods and legacies, young and old. I'm sure you will find your stay here pleasant, however long you stay here." He said, his tone mocking. I guess after the way I acted back at the pool I kinda deserved that. "You intrigue me Percy, you speak of the Greek gods as if they really do exist. I've got quite the shock for you though, you know the Roman gods? They do exist, and this is where their children train."

Great, I got blown up and launched into a camp of people who may kill me who think that the Greek gods are Roman. Just my luck.

**A/N And so the first chapter of this story is finished. Hopefully you enjoyed this and I would greatly appreciate reviews. I would also welcome for anyone to correct me if some of my information in this chapter or later in the story is incorrect, I haven't read the books in a while and I apologize if some information is off. Also, if anyone would want to beta future chapters feel free to PM me ecause as of right now, the only one who is reviewing my work is me.**


	2. Senate Metting

**A/N First off, may I say that I am truly amazed at how this fanfic was received. I cannot express my joy at being able to look at my story just one hour after being posted and seeing the story already being well received. I also understand he ending of last chapter was a bit abrupt, I'll try to add more closure to the end of this chapter, and each chapter going forward.**

**Disclaimer: Who thinks I own PJO, show of hands please. Anyone raising their hand right now is an idiot for not only thinking I own PJO, but also for raising your hand because someone on the internet told you to.**

So today has gone from bad, to worse, to an absolute shit show. OK, first my friends and I almost die in the Labyrinth multiple times, then we had to split up because Grover was hearing Pan or something, then Annabeth and I get sent on a different quest by Hephaestus, this quest then gets me blown up to go flying through the air, then once I landed I found myself in someone's pool surrounded by angry soldiers. So here I am, no idea where I am, no idea if my friends are alive, captured by people who believe in Roman gods. Just my luck, right?

After they searched me for weapons, luckily Riptide only looked like a pen normally, they then tied my hands behind my back. The soldiers not only had their weapons drawn the whole time, but they were constantly ready to use them. These people were far more trained than my friends back at Camp Half-Blood, by this time I'm sure most of the campers from back home would have either lowered their weapons or outright sheathed them.

Jason, one of the leaders of the Romans, then began to parade me through what seemed like a roman city. "This," he said making an arc with his hand, gesturing to the city around us, "is the majestic city of New Rome. It was founded back in the 1860's as a place for demigods to live in relative peace. Back then it was just Camp Jupiter though, but gradually as more demigods lived to reach older ages, a city was built around the camp for those who wished to stay near the camp to live.

"Soon monsters became attracted to the scent of so many demigods, and attacked us in hordes. It hardened us into what we are today, a force that will survive no matter what. I'm guessing you know all this already though."

"Why would I know any of this?" I asked, "I just got here."

He looked at me and raised his eyebrow, "Why would you come here though, if you did not know what 'here' was?"

"Jason, my tale is a long and confusing one," I said, "and I think it may explain why I am here, although I doubt you would believe it."

"I look forward to this story, but you will not want to say it now, for you will only have to repeat it to the Senate." He said looking back in front of him. "speaking of which, here we are. If Reyna gathered the members, then we should be able to start this meeting right away so I won't have to wait to hear this epic of yours."

I looked up at the building that stood in front of us. From what I had seen of the Roman Colosseum from pictures, the architecture of this building greatly resembled it. Annabeth would love this place. If she was alive.

I pushed that thought away, she was alive. To think anything else hurt too much, so she had to be alive.

With that thought I was shoved into the building that I assumed housed the Senate. The building was comprised of a single large, round room. Around the edges sat nine people who I assumed were the senators, I could see the girl leader was here. The center of the room was an open stage, presumably for a speaker to stand to address the senate.

"So this is the meteor-man." one the of senators called out, "I can see why he was rejected by the heavens."

"Silence Beckett!" the girl called from her seat. Apparently she was in charge of more than just the welcoming committee. "We gather here today for an emergency meeting to decide the fate of Percy Jackson."

I noticed now that I stood alone in the center of the room, not to say I wasn't still guarded. I could see that ever senator here was not only armed, but knew how to use their weapons, except for one scrawny kid who looked like he couldn't wield anything without hurting himself more than the one he was trying to harm.

Reyna then continued, "Percy, please state to the Senate of New Rome your intentions when you launched yourself into our city."

I cleared my throat before beginning to speak, "If I may say in my defense, I honestly had no control over myself in the air, and I had no knowledge of this city."

The scrawny kid stood up abruptly and cried out, "Lies!"

"Silence Octavian!" Reyna once again called out, "I shall not tolerate such outbursts in a senate meeting, if you wish to speak, speak calmly." I could tell already that Reyna was basically in charge of this senate. Jason may have seemed in charge when at the pool, but here it was clear to see who was in charge.

"Now Percy, if you wish us to consider the fact that you may have indeed came here without the intent to, please explain yourself. Once we have heard your story we will take a vote on whether to believe you or not."

"Well then, you all best get comfortable, because this story is a long one. It all started back at my camp, Camp Half-Blood. There is where the mortal children of the gods go to be trained. It was a normal day, until my friend and I stumbled upon an entrance to Daedalus' Labyrinth. This Labyrinth spans the entire country, and for anyone in it, time moves at different speeds. We discovered that the Titan Lord Kronos was planning on use the Labyrinth to gain entrance to our camp, so my friends and I were sent into the Labyrinth of a quest to find a way to stop them.

"Now this is where things get interesting, you see throughout the Labyrinth we faced many monsters, when all of a sudden one of my friends, a satyr, started hearing the God Pan, and our group of four then split up. Two of my friends went to go find Pan, and my other friend and I were sent on a separate quest to clear a forge for the god Hephaestus.

"When my friend and I got to the forge, we found it flooded with monsters. I was soon seen and I told my friend to run. Only through the powers gifted to me by my father was I able to survive. The catch? Everything around me blew up and I was launched into the sky. After losing consciousness I soon found myself crashing into one of your resident's pools and you know the story from there."

The senate was silent for a while, every member was deep in thought. Of course the skinny kid, Octavian, decided to break the silence. "Lies! Camp Jupiter is the only camp for demigods. There is no such thing as this, Camp Half-Blood. Also, it is not Hephaestus, but instead it is Mercury, obviously this, child, is making all of this up"

Jason then stood up, "Percy, when we first met you spoke of the reek gods as if they were real. This, Camp Half-Blood, are all of you told that the Greek gods are real?"

I scanned the senate, some seemed to think that maybe my story was true. "We are more than told that they exist, we are their sons and daughters. I myself have met with the Greek gods before, after doing a quest for Zeus." I paused to judge whether I was being convincing enough. More people seemed to be believing me, but it still wasn't enough.

Jason stood again and said, "This news will require another meeting, but not now. I propose to meet again in two days time for a meeting about this new news." Many heads of the senate nodded in agreement. "It is settled" and Jason sat down again.

Reyna was the next to stand. "Percy Jackson, we have heard your tale, now we shall vote on whether be believe it to be true. All in favor of believing this story raise your right hand." She then sat down and I was left to watch helplessly as these people decided my fate.

For a while no hands were raised, but then Jason raised his hand. "I don't know why, but I feel inclined to believe your story" After Jason raised his hands more senators raised their hands until it was five against five. Of those with their hands down were Octavian, the one who called me meteor-man Beckett, Reyna and two others I didn't know the name of. I began to fear I may get imprisoned and be unable to get back to Camp Half-Blood, until Reyna raised her hand.

Reyna then once again stood up and addressed the senate. "The Senate has voted in favor of believing Percy Jackson, now we vote on what to do with him."

Of course Octavian stood up first, "He can't be let go, he knows too much of our city. I say we prepare a cell for him." A few of the senators mumbled their agreement to this plan.

The next to stand was Jason, "I say we test Percy, if he succeeds this test of battle then he will be inducted as Probatio." I didn't know what a Probatio was, but it sure sounded better than prisoner.

Beckett then decided to stand for the second time since I arrived here, "I agree with Jason, and I say that I myself will be the one to test him. If he loses, then we go to Octavian's plan." This made a few of the senators a bit nervous.

"Is that a formal challenge Beckett?" Reyna asked.

"It is indeed." Beckett responded with a cruel smile. It reminded my of Clarisse.

The senate then voted on whether to let me fight Beckett, the vote passed nine-to-one, the only one who voted no was Reyna.

Jason the stood, "The Senate has decided, Percy will fight Beckett in solo combat until submission or the inability to continue. As we have decided upon all that we had planned for this meeting, I proclaim this meeting adjourned."

Jason then walked down to me and lead me out of the Senate House, leaning close to me he began to talk fast, "O.K. Percy, Beckett is a fierce warrior and is one of the strongest children of Mars, it won't be and easy win. Have you any training with a blade?"

I nodded and said, "I haven't lived this long by talking monsters to death have I?"

Jason chuckled and we kept walking. "I'm bringing you to the Colosseum, there you will fight Beckett. Should you lose, you become a prisoner indefinitely, but if you win, you will become a Probatio."

"What is a Probatio" I asked

"A Probatio is a member of Camp Jupiter who has yet to prove themselves, but once they do they become full members. Normally members are trained by Lupa before coming here, proving their worth that way, but seeing your strange arrival I think that's out of the picture now. Anyways, if you win then you aren't a prisoner, right?"

"Jason," I began, "I really appreciate you standing up for me, and believing me, but I need to get back home. I need to see if my friends are safe, they probably think I'm dead."

Jason stopped and looked at me, "Percy, that life is over. Now that you are in Camp Jupiter, there's no leaving. We have only survived here for so long by being secretive, we aren't going to jeopardize that by letting you leave. I'm sorry."

I then realized that the explosion did kill Percy. He could never go back home, see his friends, see his mother again. Percy was dead.

"Jason, call me Perseus."

And so here I am, walking to fight one of the best fighters at this camp. If I lose I am a prisoner. If I win, I'm still a prisoner. Just my luck.

**A/N That's right, another chapter already. Why? Two reasons. First reason is that it was mostly done when I uploaded the first chapter, the second reason was the positive reviews inspired me to finish off this chapter for all of you. Again, any mistakes in the fic, feel free to point them out. I love all the reviews I get. Hopefully this ending is better than the ending of the last chapter. If you think I should have done something different or if I should do something different in the future please let me know. I'm also still without a beta, so if someone thinks they are up to the task, feel free to PM me. Also if someone wants to desing a cover for this story, please feel free to. I'm not nearly talented enough to make my own.**


	3. Beckett vs Meteor Man

**A/N I must say the feedback so far has been amazing, I really expected this idea to flop horribly. I would also like to ask if anyone has seen this idea in a different fanfic, and if so please say which one as I myself am curious if this actually an original idea.**

**Disclaimer: Lick your screen if you think I own PJO. I hope all of you have saliva-free screens still because I don't.**

The trip to the coliseum was a silent one. Jason seemed to be able to sense that I wasn't in a talking mood right now. I mean, I was trapped in this stupid camp/town thing with no chance to go home, on my way to fight an apparently very skilled warrior. If I lose this battle I become a prisoner, if I win I get to join the Romans as a "free" member. Its basically a fight to see if my prison cell is an actual cell, or an apartment. Either way I still can't leave.

"It isn't that bad Perseus, living here that is. Many families have stayed here to live very happy lives." Jason, one of the few Romans I knew by name, told me. He was the one who set me up with this "amazing" opportunity.

I sighed and looked at Jason, "Listen, I appreciate you believing me, and not wanting to put me in a prison cell, but you gotta understand something. This whole camp is a prison cell. No matter if I win or lose I still won't be allowed back home, I have family and friends you know."

"Perseus," he sighed, " This city is run by the Senate, every decision that impacts the city is decided by them. I have only one seat on the Senate, I may want to be able to let you go, but I can't make that decision on my own. My hands are tied." I knew that would be his answer, I knew he couldn't help me. I was on my own, but not even the gods themselves will be able to stand in my way when I choose to leave.

Before I knew it we were standing in front of a huge coliseum. Jason turned to me and whispered in my ear, "O.K Perseus, here we are, the Coliseum. The rules are as follows, no armor and you are only allowed one weapon. Remember that this is not a fight to the death, so don't try and kill Beckett. Any non-fatal or non-serious injuries are fair game though. Since you don't have any weapons of your own, you will be given a selection from the armory here."

The roar of the crowd was deafening as we walked into the coliseum, there must be some sort of fight going on already for there was no way that word spread of this fight quickly enough for all these people to gather. Jason then lead me down a flight of stairs into some sort of locker room, if locker rooms also feature gratuitous amounts of weaponry, which tends to be most demigod locker rooms.

"OK Perseus," Jason said as he lead me to a weapon rack, "take your pick, and keep in mind, if you try and kill me just remember that I'm not the only person in this camp you need to worry about."

I gave a little chuckle as I started examining the weapons. Of course I knew Riptide was in my pocket as a pen, but I didn't think I wanted the Romans to know about that little trick of mine just yet. Instead I started looking at the spears. Spear would offer more reach, which would be really handy in a one on one fight with each competitor only having one weapon.

I shook my head at this though, I knew i wasn't as skilled at using a spear as I would be for this fight. From what I heard Beckett was a very talented fighter and I knew I would need to use a weapon I was comfortable using in order to win this battle. Surprisingly the Romans seemed to have decent spare swords and it took little time for me to find one that felt decent enough.

"You ready?" Jason asked.

I swallowed nervously, "Yeah." Wow, way to sound confident Perseus. I wasn't confident though, I mean I had just been blown up, how do I know I'm ready to fight?

Just as we were about to leave the locker room however, a weapon caught my eye. I trident was lying against a wall in a corner. I'm not sure what caused me to walk over to it, but soon enough it was in my hands. It was no Riptide, that was for sure, but something about it just felt, natural. Like I was meant to wield it. I figured I was just being an idiot, but before I knew what was happening I had already put the sword back where I had gotten it from and was out of the locker room.

When I heard the announcer call out my name I walked numbly out into the arena. Everyone was silent. Once the announcer then announced Beckett though, everything erupted into deafening cheers. I saw some people in the stands exchanging money, placing bets on how long it would take for Beckett to beat me.

Beckett was using a short, curved sword for this fight, and I could tell her knew how to use it in a fight. More than I could say bout me and my trident. What was most unsettling about Beckett though was his face. He looked so confident in victory, I suspect he thinks he will just toy with me for a while before ending it, like a cat playing with a mouse.

The announcer then stood and spoke to the crowd, "Welcome Legionaries and families, here today we have quite the fight set out for you all! The fight will be between Beckett Allan, Centurion of the First Cohort, and Perseus Jackson, the mysterious Meteor Man! The rules are simple, no killing, one weapon per contestant, use any method to win that you have at your disposal, and the winner will be declared once their opponent accepts defeat or is unable to continue fighting. Let the battle, begin!"

The crowd started going insane and Beckett charged at me. I raised the trident and followed suit. I had a plan for this fight, I just hoped I didn't underestimate Beckett or overestimate my ability to wield a trident.

Just before we collided I went into a slide and swung the trident up and Beckett, obviously he didn't expect this. Beckett leaped to the side and once again we were facing each other on opposite sides of the arena.

This time Beckett didn't charge at me, but instead strode confidently in my direction, swinging the sword around casually. I on the other hand knew I couldn't let Beckett get comfortable so I charged at him again. This time as we reached however, instead of going for a slide I jumped up and over Beckett trying to connect with my trident.

I got a solid strike on his shoulder, but with pole part of the trident, only knocking Beckett off balance. Beckett quickly got back in his feet and closed the distance between us. I knew if he stayed up close like this he would have the clear advantage over me.

Beckett swung his sword with the ferocity of a wild animal, Always staying on the attack and forcing me to dodge or block constantly. I knew if this pattern continued I wouldn't last much longer. Then I remembered something I learn about coliseums from Annabeth.

Coliseums were able to hold water for ship battles, which meant that hopefully there would be some sort of body of water near or under the coliseum, and if I could access that it would give me the advantage I needed to win.

In case you haven't tried this before, let me tell you that searching for water with your mind while fighting a skilled swordsman is kinda hard to do. Luckily it didn't take to long to feel the presence of water running through pipes in the walls surrounding the coliseum.

I started backing up towards a wall, hoping to get as close to the water as possible. Beckett intensified his attack, thinking that I was trying to run away. Soon I felt my back against the wall and I knew it was now or never. I pulled the water from the pipes and urged it to break through the wall. I heard the wall groaning behind me. At the last second before the wall exploded outwards I dove and tackled Beckett to the ground.

This would have been suicide due to Beckett's sword still being fairly effective at this close of quarters, that is, if he wasn't surrounded by water. The water strengthened me enough to grab the handle of the sword and rip it from Beckett's grasp. I then swung the pommel of the sword down on Beckett's head, knocking him unconscious.

I let the water soak into the ground now, not needing its assistance anymore. I stood there, in the middle of the arena, standing over Beckett's limp body. I stared out at the crowd and raised my trident into the air.

The crowd was silent the whole time, they all wore shocked expressions, including Jason. The faces of the people who were placing bets as to how long I would last until I was beaten were priceless. Of course then the cries of outrage came, apparently using my powers were "against the rules". The only one who looked pleased with my victory was Jason.

Of course I knew if it wasn't for Annabeth's architecture lectures I would never have known to look for water in the coliseum and I would have lost without a doubt. I'd have to thank Annabeth next time I... if I ever saw her again.

So here I am, a victor. Yet nothing has changed, I still don't know if my friends are alive, I'm still unable to go home, and for some reason I am still surrounded by a bunch of angry Romans. Just my luck.

**A/N Here's the next chapter, the fourth chapter is currently being worked on as you read this little end note. Once again I would like to ask you to please leave a little review, last time I got a bunch of good reviews I posted two chapters in the span of a few hours. Of course I'm not requiring reviews to continue, it just speeds up the process a bit. Also, cover art you be greatly welcomed if someone wants to make one for this story. I am also without a beta still, so that spot is vacant for any interested parties.**


	4. Welcome to Rome

**A/N I would like to spend this note to simply thank all you readers for the positive feedback that you have given me so far into this story. It truly means a lot to me when I know that my writing is at least making some people happy.**

**Disclaimer: If I owned PJO you can bet your ass I would be trying to make a profit off of it, but I don't own PJO and I'm not making money.**

It seems as if the Fates really hate me. This whole escapade started because my friend and I accidentally found an entrance to Daedalus's Labyrinth, and from that point on the shit has really hit the fan. I have been blown up, captured by Romans, put on trial by Romans, set up to fight for my "freedom" against a Roman, and then when I win the fight, the crowd hates me.

The announcer of the match stood up then and someone managed to quite the crowd enough so that he can shout over the crowd. "Everyone calm down!" He then directed his gaze at me. "Perseus Jackson, using powers is strictly forbidden in the Coliseum! By using your powers you have broken the rules and have thus forfeited the match. I proclaim Beckett the victor!"

The crowd at this point went wild. I spun the trident that I was wielding in my hand and stabbed it into the ground. I then looked up at the announcer and called out calmly, "If I may ask, when did you say that godly powers were against the rules? To answer that question, you didn't. You never stated that powers were against the rules."

The announcer looked nervously around at the crowd as I said this. A part of me wanted to be angry at the announcer for trying to cheat me out of my victory, but at the same time I understood that he had no real power. The crowd was in true control of the announcer's verdict, and so that is who I directed my anger at.

Jason then stood and called to the announcer, shouting above the crowd, "Perseus is right, it has never been the case in the Coliseum that godly powers be banned. Plenty of fighters have used their powers before and no one ever batted an eye."

Everything went silent. Every pair of eyes in the Coliseum moved from me, to Jason, to the announcer, and then back to me. Eventually the announcer gave a sigh and said, "The previous decision concerning the victor of the fight was made in haste. I must redact the previous statement and pronounce Perseus Jackson the victor."

After hearing this from the announcer I walked out of the arena, leaving the trident still embedded in the ground. As I stepped into the locker room I realized I was still clutching Beckett's short sword. As I looked the the sword more I realized that it was made out of some sort of golden material that I hadn't seen before.

"Nice _gladius,_ was that Beckett's?" I jumped as I heard Jason's voice. I hadn't seen him walk into the locker room.

"Yeah, I should give it back to him shouldn't I?" I said.

"Not unless you want to make an even bigger enemy out of him. You won the sword through conquest, giving it back to him would be telling him your victory wasn't a conquest. It's like telling him 'you were no challenge to defeat'. Sucks to him though because that's a really nice weapon."

"What kind of material is it made of? It looks like gold, but what idiot would make a sword out of gold?" I asked.

Jason looked at me like I just said I didn't know what ice cream was, "It's Imperial Gold, a very rare material that acts much in the same way as Stygian Iron in the fact that it can harm mortals and those that live in our world. The big difference while Stygian Iron is seen as a much more sinister metal, Imperial Gold is seen as the metal of the Gods. Have you really never seen it before?"

I looked back down at the sword in my hand, on closer inspection I could see that it, much like Celestial Bronze, gave off a slight glow. "No, where I came from we used Celestial Bronze for just about everything. We never had the fancy golden toys that you Romans have." I flashed a smile at Jason`, just in case he didn't know I was only poking fun, and meant no offense.

He smiled back and said, "Most of our stuff is bronze too, but some people have much more fancy 'toys'. Those that have them are either rich, have parents who gifted them with one, or in your case by conquest. But seeing how you used that trident back in the arena I think you may be more suited for that rather than a sword."

"The trident wasn't nearly as shiny as this sword though," I said with a grin, "and plus I'm much more used to fighting with swords than tridents, I don't know why I went with a trident in the fight anyways to be honest."

Jason looked at my with a knowing look, "I'm not sure how it works with you Greeks, but our godly parents tend to have their children use more of their iconic weapons. You're father would be Neptune based on that waterworks show in the arena, the trident was a sign from him. If you want the shininess we can melt down the sword and remake it into the end of a trident. There won't be enough Imperial Gold in it for the pole part of it, but in reality you won't need that to be golden."

What he said made some sense, it would explain why I was drawn to the trident in the arena. I would need to talk to my father about all of this soon. Maybe he could get me out of here and back to Camp Half-Blood.

Then I began to wonder who Jason's godly parent was. "Jason," I asked, "who is your godly parent?"

"My father would be Jupiter, or as you may know him, Zeus."

My mind went strait to Thalia, a friend of mine who was also a child of Zeus. It was only two years ago when we used the Golden Fleece and accidentally brought her back to life. In the time afterwords we had become pretty close friends, even though we both fought a decent amount. Boy would she be surprised when I told her about Jason being her half-broth...

I needed to stop thinking about Camp Half-Blood, about my friends. I couldn't go back to that life, the only chance is if my father helps, but its safer to not give myself the chance to hope. If I were to allow myself to think I could go back to my old life, it would only hurt more when those hopes were dashed. I need to remember, I'm Perseus now. Percy is dead, he died in the explosion.

"Hey, did you hear anything I just said?" Jason's voice for the second time today, made me jump. "No? Well I was saying that if you would follow me we need to go see what Cohort you will be joining. You'll probably be put in the Fifth because it's considered the lowest one, but don't worry. I plan on changing everyone's view of it soon enough, maybe even with your help we can fix its broken reputation"

I stood up and followed him outside of the locker room and back into New Rome. I looked over at Jason while we walked and asked, "So what are Cohorts, and why is the Fifth viewed so poorly. You mentioned something about a broken reputation."

Jason sighed, "You've got a lot to learn Perseus, a lot to learn. First lesson starts now. This city we are in is New Rome, this is where retired legionnaires live. You may also run into some Lares, but don't worry, they are just spirits of legionnaires that came before us that chose to stick around instead of joining their brethren in the afterlife. Also, be careful of Terminus, he makes sure there are no weapons inside the city. The only exceptions to this rule are when escorting prisoners, or in the coliseum. Here, hand me your sword so we can use the prisoner excuse to get by him without trouble.

I had to reason to distrust Jason at this point, why would he constantly stick his neck out for me if he wanted to kill me anyways. Besides, he seemed like a stand-up kind of guy, so I handed him my newly acquired sword.

"Anyways," Jason continued talking, "where we will be spending most of our time is Camp Jupiter. Camp Jupiter is where all the legionnaires are trained, or those working to be named legionnaires in your case. The camp is then divided into five Cohorts, each with two Centurions that lead the Cohorts. These Centurions are elected every year and are not only the leaders of the Cohorts, but are also members of the Senate. In order to qualify to become a Centurion one must have been at camp for at least five years.

"Then, of the ten Centurions, two Praetors are elected based upon prior deeds. Currently the Praetors are Reyna and Alden Smith. Alden had a proxy at the Senate meeting however due to him being currently out on a quest."

I was surprised to hear that Jason wasn't a Praetor, he seemed to wield a lot of power during the Senate meeting. Maybe it was just because he was a Centurion that people listened to him, although that wouldn't make sense because all of the Senate were Centurions. He must just be well respected among the Romans.

Jason then began to continue to talk about Camp Jupiter. He spoke about how each Cohort has five barracks with ten bunks each. He also spoke about eating times, when training was, what we would train with, and he also spoke of something called 'war games'. It was probably something like... stop it Perseus, stop thinking about your old life. This is your life now.

Jason then gave me a tour of Camp Jupiter before curfew. He then led me to the second barrack for the Fifth Cohort.

"This is where you will be staying Perseus," He said cheerfully as he pointed at the bunk in the back of the room. He then pointed towards a bunk of the opposite side and said, "and that is my bunk. Feel free to put up some decorations around your bunk, once you get some that is. The only rule is that The decorations don't take up too much space and that they aren't distracting or offensive to the other residents of the barracks."

Gradually the barracks filled up with other members of Jason's, well I guess it's also my Cohort now. The other members seemed to look at me with a mixture of awe and distrust. I heard the phrase "Meteor Man" whispered by a few of the members as they talked amongst themselves.

I only now realized that I was utterly wiped. I collapsed on my new bunk and fell asleep almost as soon as my head at the pillow. Then the dream came.

I was standing in a giant, sea green colored throne room. A stern looking man sat upon the throne, wearing fierce armor and wielding a giant trident in his hand. As his gaze fell upon me however, his appearance changed from stern to joyful. His armor changed into a Hawaiian tee-shirt and his trident disappeared from his hand. It was my father, Poseidon.

"Percy! You're alive!" He then stood up from his throne and enveloped me in a giant hug, only rivaled in strength by those of my half-brother Tyson. "I thought you had died in the explosion!"

"I can assure you I'm not dead yet, but I am stuck with Romans." I said. This bit of information made my father almost look scared.

"Percy, what did you just say?"

I repeated to him what I had said. My father then gradually changed back into the armored man that I first saw when I appeared in my father's throne room.

"Time for a history lesson Perseus. Back when the Romans defeated the Greeks the Greek gods thought that the Romans' gods would replace them, so they change. The Greek gods changed to resemble those of the Romans. The gods became more stern, and warlike, much like the Romans that worshiped them. They changed more over the years until they became two entities all together, sharing the same body.

"The demigods also changed, taking in traits from their either Roman or Greek parents. The demigods began to feud though, and a civil war that mirrored that of the Americans broke out. The gods then separated the two breeds of heroes, and soon they forgot of one another.

"I see now that the gap between them is about to close, and you will be the catalyst. You must remain with the Romans Perseus, and unite the two breeds once again. Only then will we be strong enough to oppose Kronos when he rises.

I looked at Neptune, "Will I ever get to see my friends again?" It was the only question I needed an answer to.

"I don't know Perseus. I cannot say, nor would it be my place to tell you." My heart stopped beating for what felt like an eternity. I knew, deep down that that would be the answer, but part of me just wouldn't accept it.

"Percy," the sound of my father's voice, not that of Neptune, said. "I wish I could help you, but my hands are tied. The Fates put you in Camp Jupiter for a reason, and I cannot ignore that. What I can do however, is give a gift to you. I can sense already that you are using the same method that the gods used Percy, creating a new version of you, a Roman version. I cannot say whether it is a good strategy or a bad one, for I have not lived long enough myself to see the true consequences of our decision as gods to do that. But what I can give you, if you so insist on creating a Roman persona, a modification to Riptide, may I?" My father held out his hand.

I reached into my pocket and took out Riptide and handed it to him. He uncapped it and instead of a sword appearing, in its place was a trident made of Imperial Gold. "I figure Riptide is a Greek weapon, this here is a Roman one for you. Its name is _Oceani Furor_, or Ocean's Rage. To summon it instead of Riptide, you simply need to be your Roman self. As this is a Roman weapon and Riptide is a Greek one, each will summon when you are in your own respective mind set."

He recapped the weapon and handed it to me. Before I could thank him I started to wake up, but just before I left my father's realm I heard his voice say one last thing to me.

"Never forget who you truly are Percy."

**A/N So life kept me from finishing this chapter when I expected to, but oh well. Reviews are always loved. I also would not mind if someone would like to make some cover art for this story. Also, still without a beta. If anyone thinks they are up to the task please send me a PM. Also, I do have a pretty big paper coming up, so while I may have been pretty fast with these first few chapters, expect them to slow down until I finish my paper. I'm still going to work on this sotry, it will just be at a slower pace.**


	5. Battle for New Rome

**A/N Back again and it's time to respond to some concerns that are being expressed in the reviews. First, "Will Percy meet his Greek friends again?" Yes, yes he will. That's all I will say because I'm not going to spoil future plot developments. Secondly some people are concerned about Percy's dual personality that he's developing. Think about it, he basically got torn away from his life and thrust into a new one, this is how he is coping with it. It may prove to be problematic later in the story, but hey, every story needs some things that will make it hard for the main character. No one likes a story where the main character gets everything and doesn't have to work or suffer for anything. It's harder to connect to that kind of character. Also, I would like to say this. Percy's friends think he is dead. None of them know he is alive. Not sure if multiple people were confused by this, or maybe it was only one person, but oh well.**

**So I hope that this extended Author's Note will have helped comfort you readers. All I ask of you is that you have some sort of faith in me, I am laying the foundation for the rest of the story in these chapters and every part is thought out by me. I'm not winging this story, I do have a plan. Have some faith.**

I woke up to the sound of horn blaring. I looked around, mind still mostly asleep to see the rest of the members of the cabin wake with a start. From the looks of their faces this wasn't the morning wake-up horn. This was the emergency horn.

My mind cleared instantly and I got of out bed in an instant, looking to see Jason doing the same thing. I ran over to him and shouted above the horn, "What the hell is going on here?"

Jason looked at me with a stern face, the face of a warrior about to go into battle. "Monsters are in New Rome, these legionnaires aren't going to be ready fast enough to respond. I'm guessing it's a similar sight in most other barracks. These people haven't had an attack to repel in too long, they've grown soft. We need to hurry to the city, now!"

And so here I was, running with Jason, both of us in pajamas, running in a full sprint towards New Rome. I could see smoke from fires in the city and I could hear the screams of those about to meet their ancestors in the realm of Pluto.

"The citizens are all retired legionnaires, they would be able to stop an attack, but there are no weapons allowed in New Rome. They would have realized this and set up a defense in the coliseum." Jason shouted as we ran. "We need to get there as fast as possible!"

Soon we entered the city. The sight was so different from the first one I had gotten of the city. My first look had been from the eyes of a prisoner. I had looked upon the buildings with awe at their splendor. Now I was looking as a defender, and I was looking at the horrifying scene on the whole city in flames.

As we turned the corner to the get to the coliseum we ran into our first group of monsters. It was a group of about five Laistrygonian Giants. The last time I had fought these beasts was in an intense game of dodge ball. I saw Jason flip a golden coin which turned into an Imperial Gold spear.

"Cool toy." I said. Then I realized that I had left the sword I had won from Beckett back at the barracks. Unless I wanted to die I guess I had to show Riptide. "Check this out." I took out my pen from my pocket and uncapped it. It slightly surprised me to find it turn into a golden trident, before I remembered my dream last night.

Jason flashed a smile at me before we both turned to the giants who had just now noticed us and started to charge. We both stood our ground and watched the giants barrel down the road towards us, each one a staggering eight feet tall. The giants each held some sort of piece of wreckage as they charged. One had a street light, another had a broken piece of a chariot, one even charged at us wielding what appeared to be a stuffed minotaur head with one horn missing.

Just before they were on top of us we both rolled out on opposite sides, stabbing at the nearest giant with our respective weapons. My trident only scored a glancing blow though, whereas Jason's stabbed through what was apparently a vital organ, as his giant turned to golden dust. "Score one for me! Step up your game Perseus!"

I grinned at Jason. "You look tired, want me to clear the rest of the city for you?" I then attempted to block a swing of the minotaur head, but the force of the blow knocked the trident out of my grasp. It also broken off the other minotaur horn. How fitting, that my first Roman kill would mirror that of my first Greek one.

I gripped the horn and leaped at the giant that had knocked my trident out of my hands. I planted my foot on the giant's knee and pushed off against it, pointing the horn up and stabbing the giant through the bottom of its mouth. I jumped down to the ground and watched it turn to dust. I then reached into my pocket and pulled out my pen again, once more dodging the attacks of the three remaining giants.

Soon enough the giants were not but dust, and Jason and I were left panting alone in the middle of the street. "Come on Perseus, we must help the others!"

The sounds of screaming only got louder the closer we got to the coliseum. My mind was full of questions that wouldn't leave me alone. How had the monsters gotten into New Rome? Where was Terminus? Where are the rest of the members from Camp Jupiter?

The answer to the last question was answered once we got the the coliseum. The residents of New Rome and the legionnaires from Camp Jupiter were barely defending the entrance to the coliseum from an impossible amount of monsters. My hand reached out and grabbed Jason before he charged into the mass of enemies.

"We can't just charge into that Jason! We are no good to New Rome as corpses! We need a plan, and fast!" I said. I could tell Jason was eager to help the defenders, but logic pierced through his lust for battle. My eyes lit up when I noticed the aqueduct that was not too far from the coliseum.

"Jason, we need to work together!" I pointed at the aqueduct and told him the plan I had come up with. Soon enough I was running as fast as I could towards the aqueduct. Once again I owed my life to Annabeth, without her lectures on what and aqueduct was I would never have come up with this plan. I recalled that she had told me the Romans used aqueducts to bring fresh water to their cities, I just hoped that it was just there for looks.

As I got close to it I could feel the water calling to me, and I almost did a dance for joy when I felt it. I looked back at the coliseum, Jason was lying in wait for me to give him the signal to start the plan. I then gave him the signal he was looking for, which just so happened to be me riding a giant wave of water that I had stolen from the aqueduct down to the group of monsters outside the coliseum. The wave hit the monsters, killing some of them on contact, but the rest were just knocked to the ground, wet. I avoided the monsters that I thought were too close the the doors of the coliseum, no need for us to kill our allies with this insane plan. This is where Jason came in, because if I learned anything from science class it's that water is a very good conductor for electricity. I dried myself off just in time to hear the crack of a bolt of lightning.

The air filled with the dust from the wet monsters as they were killed from the lightning as it worked its way through the water and into their bodies. The small group of monsters at the doors to the coliseum were then quickly dispatched by the defenders at the doors.

A girl ran out of the group of defenders and straight as Jason, nearly tackling him with a ferocious hug. It was Reyna. "Gods damn you Jason, can you imagine what was going through my mind when I heard that you had ran ahead of the rest of us to New Rome? How about when those at the coliseum said they hadn't seen you? I thought you were dead!" Reyna then collapsed into sobs as she held onto Jason in a vice-like grip.

I turned away from the two, this moment was for them, I had no right to be a part of it. Then I noticed a face from the crowd looks directly at me, then come walking towards me. It was Beckett.

"Perseus, I hate to admit it, but you saved our asses with Jason there." he held out his hand and I took it. "I want to apologize for my actions yesterday, if you have proven anything to me today, it's that no matter how Greek you may be, you are a true Roman."

I was touched by this. Beckett, the one who had taunted me as I walked into the Senate House before he knew me, the one who tried to make me a prisoner through a fight he had expected to win, was apologizing to me. "Beckett, I know that me giving you your sword back would be an insult, but I can't keep it. I have my own weapon, and you need yours. If need be, we can fight again without godly powers. To be honest you would win that fight in a heartbeat." I said with a smile.

Beckett grinned, then shook his head saying, "No Perseus, keep it. I was and arrogant ass, and I deserved to lose my sword." This made me realize just how much more these Romans respected one another. Beckett's opinion of me had changed now that I was a Roman with them. I doubted that the Romans had many problems with rivalries between the cabins, or I guess it would be Cohorts. I have no doubt there would be rivalries, just nothing as bad as it could get at Camp Half-Blood.

Then Reyna and Jason joined us. Reyna then filled us in on what had happened. "The monster came from that building over there," she pointed at a building on the corner. Nothing about the building looked to strange to me. "Terminus," she continued "disappeared minutes before the attack. No one knows what happened to him, some think he joined with the enemy, and at the moment, we must believe that is so. He left right before an attack on New Rome, perhaps he was captured, but no one is sure."

I then got a sinking feeling in my stomach as I looked at the building the monsters had come from. "I think I know what happened Reyna. Follow me" I said as I began walking towards the building. Stepping inside it looked like a hotel lobby. "What was this building?"

Reyna then told me, "It was the Bacchus Inn. It was one of the first buildings of New Rome."

This made the feeling get worse. As I looked around I saw one walls had been recently demolished. I walked over to it and stepped inside the hole, with Jason, Reyna, and Beckett following behind me.

The room was a small, dark room lit by a single hanging lantern. The lantern must have been lit recently, else the fire would have died from the looks of how old it was. The room was empty, except for a hole in the wall. The hole led to a tunnel that went downwards, into the earth. Then my eyes fell upon a symbol on wall next to the hole.

It was the Greek letter Delta. This hole was an entrance to the Labyrinth.

I sighed and looked at Beckett. "I think I just found proof of my tale that you hadn't believed during the Senate meeting Beckett. Everyone, I give you an entrance to Daedalus' Labyrinth! This is how the monsters got into New Rome, and it's also how they plan on getting into Camp Half-Blood." I stopped and looked at Reyna, "The Labyrinth in nearly unnavigable, only ways to navigate it are known. Ariadne's String, or with the help of a mortal who can see through the Mist.

"The titan's must have one of these two things, and we need to get whatever they used away from them. The Labyrinth cannot be simply collapsed, the tunnels would reopen within days. We need to send a group in to remove what they use to navigate from their hands."

Reyna looked doubtful, "The Labyrinth must be huge, how would we even navigate it?"

I looked back at her and tried my best to convince her of how important this way. "The Labyrinth spans across all of North America, but distance is shortened immensely. You can get from Texas to Washington in hours. If distance is shortened inside the Labyrinth then the Labyrinth can't be too big, can it? Plus, exits and entrances are all over, if we get lost all we must do is find a single exit. Once we find that we can come back over land, if we so wish to abandon the Labyrinth."

Beckett then looked at me directly, "Am I to assume you wish to go on this mission to escape back to your old camp Perseus? I know you are a good man, I don't question that, but even a good man hears the call of home."

I nodded at this, it was a reasonable assumption, and maybe before today it would have been a correct one. "Beckett, going back to Camp Half-Blood would do them no good. I need to stop the enemy before they get to camp to truly help them. I'll admit, my intentions for this mission are not completely selfless, but you cannot deny that if the titans can keep using this as an entrance to New Rome, the Romans would fall before the war truly began."

"If I may say something," Jason said, "we cannot ignore this threat. Normally the Senate must meet to decide a mission, but it is in my opinion that in such a situation of emergency we begin this journey at once." This got reluctant nods from both Reyna and Beckett.

Reyna then stepped out of the room housing the entrance to the Labyrinth and walked to the front desk of the hotel. She took a pen and wrote something on a piece of paper. She then walked out of the hotel and handed the note to a passing Roman. As she walked back to the Labyrinth room she said, "That was a note to Alden explaining the situation, we need to get into the Labyrinth now."

And so I began the descent into the Labyrinth once again, with a different group of demigods. The mission was still much the same. A part of me thought that maybe I'd be blown up again and this time sent into a different camp of demigods, maybe this time Egyptians or something. That would be just my luck.

**A/N perhaps you saw this coming, perhaps not. Anyways, I'm trying my hardest to pump out these chapters daily. I may slow down the updates later, but as it is I am doing my best to give you guys this story as soon as possible. As always, reviews are always loved, if you have a question feel free to post it in the reviews and I'll do my best to answer it in the next chapter. Beta position is still open, and should anyone want to make some cover art for this story, I would love it and would give much credit.**

**Also, I couldn't resist poking a bit of fun at Rick Riordan's other book series with the Egyptian demigod remark. The series was in my opinion good, but a bit too similar to PJO, so I tend to make fun of it.**


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